DALLAS, PA (January 21, 2023) -- In the dual meet on Saturday afternoon, the King's College men's swimming team fell, 143-48, to the host Misericordia University in the Anderson Center. The Monarchs drop to 4-6 overall in dual meets, while the Cougars improve to 6-2.
 
Anthony Ursini made a splash to kick things off for King's (4-6) as he won the 1,650-yard freestyle in 18:47.36 to earn the Monarchs nine team points, defeating Misericordia's Nate Kline who posted a time of 19:12.47. Andrew Pursel and Erik Aguero competed in their first events in the 200-yard freestyle as Pursel finished second in 1:55.90 and Aguero posted a time of 2:03.76.
 
A trio of Monarchs appeared in the 50-yard freestyle led by Anthony Macko who placed third in 23.57 seconds. He was followed closely by Ryan Bixler with a time of 23.81 seconds and Joey Slish who finished in 26.92 seconds. Blaze Graham was the lone Monarch in the 200-yard individual medley as he finished third out of five swimmers in 2:13.26.
 
In the 200-yard butterfly, Aguero placed second just behind Misericordia's Ben Sorrentino, as he finished with a time of 2:15.17. King's saw three swimmers in the 100-yard freestyle, led by Pursel who finished second in 50.78 seconds. Macko and Graham placed third and fourth, respectively, as Macko posted a time of 53.57 seconds and Graham finished in 54.22 seconds.
 
Ursini and Slish were the King's duo in the 100-yard backstroke as Ursini posted a time of 1:06.20, while Slish finished in 1:09.36. Bixler swam for King's in the 500-yard freestyle as he came in with a time of 5:17.75 to finish second in the event.
 
Rounding out the individual events in the meet was Aguero who completed the 100-yard breaststroke in 1:11.08. The King's relay team of Bixler, Graham, Macko, and Pursel finished second in the 400-yard freestyle relay in a time of 3:28.82.
 
King's will conclude their dual meets next Saturday, January 28 as they visit cross-town rival Wilkes University. The meet is set to begin at 1:00 p.m. at the Wyoming Valley CYC.